Featured article... on Lycraheroes

The following is my 2nd article featured on this new and exciting website - Lycraheroes, a triathlon website that for once, puts the everyday age groupers in the spotlight. Be sure to like their Facebook page too for the latest news and updates! And share your triathlon related experience by sending your stories to mystories (at) lycraheroes (dot) com

Never ending journey… two wheels at a time

The bike is undisputedly the biggest investment for a triathlete… both in terms of money and time spent in training. This is no surprise given that in most triathlons, the bike segment takes up the largest proportion of the entire race duration (unless you are having a bad day and the ‘run’ segment is no longer a run but more like a walk/crawl, but let’s not go there!) Your trusted steed, your race machine, your ride of pride, your prized possession etc…. the bike goes by many different names and I’m sure each triathlete shares a special bond with their bike(s).

Throughout my 10 years or so of doing this sport I’ve gone through my fair share of bikes. Each etched a significant part in my memory and adding different flavours to my triathlon experience. I did my first sprint triathlon on a borrowed bike, which was two sizes too big for me. You bet I had a sore bum after but I was pretty much hooked into the sport.

I then bought a used Giant OCR3 from a local bike shop in Perth, Australia. I know many who had this model named theirs the Yellow Submarine but back then, I did not know it was a convention to give pet names to your bike, so I didn’t give it one. I did my first Olympic Distance triathlon on this bike in Port Dickson, Malaysia.

I soon realised that the Giant was one size too small for me. I gave it to my younger sister and it served her well for several triathlons and duathlons. I then bought an Avanti Monza and also invested in a pair of clip-on aerobars. I had many fond memories with this bike and even did my first half Ironman with this bike in Busselton, Autralia.

It was then when my triathlon journey took a leap. After completing the half Ironman without too much suffering, I was ready to take on the next challenge… so I signed up for what was touted as the Toughest Show on Earth – Ironman Malaysia in Langkawi. I decided it was time I invested in a tri bike. I got a good deal on a Quintana Roo Kilo that was on clearance. But the I had a poor fit which was evident below.

Still, I completed the full Ironman in one piece but the bike porn at the race with so many superbikes at transition must have fuelled my lust… lust for carbon (okay, maybe the poor fit was just an excuse)! I upgraded to a Felt B2R, a full carbon tri bike with Sram Red components. I call it my Faithful Felt, as it served me well through ridiculous miles in training and countless races including 4 full Ironmans.

After being my loyal steed for 3 years, I bade farewell to Faithful Felt. As technology progressed, I saved up a bit of money for my next bike purchase. I still remained a fan of the Felt mafia. I got a good deal on Felt DA1 frame and had local bike shop in Taman Bahagia, Malaysia take care of the rest – the new Sram Red, Zipp Vuka R2C shifters, Prologo Tri40 saddle. When the bike was fully built, I was salivating and could not wait to take it out for a test ride! Affectionately called my Dark Knight, I’ve raced 2 full Ironmans with it and looking forward more races to come.

Despite going through quite a handful of bikes, I’ve only had one bike at a time - yes, it was a monogamous relationship (although my wife would disagree)! New bikes with state of the art technology are launched each year and although the temptation is always there to upgrade, I cannot justify the costs of upgrading. So I’m sticking with my Dark Knight for now and I’m more than happy to do so.

Unless… I get a deal I can’t refuse somewhere down the road… (shh, don’t tell my wife!).

King and Queen of Kona

In the previous years when we were in Australia, because of the time difference, I was only able to catch the later parts of the bike or the start of the run. Well, now being in Canada, we're actually 6 hours ahead of Kona, Hawaii. So I actually get to catch the live streaming from midday onwards. As it was the weekend of Canada thanksgiving (the US one is end of November), we stayed the night in Markham with Li-Ann's relatives for a lovely dinner of turkey and roast beef. We arrived just after the swim start and I was able to watch most of the race up until dinner time. And continued watching on the iPad after I finished dinner, when the pros were in the later stages of the run. I was probably not very sociable but Li-Ann's relatives were very accommodating to allow me to watch me the race.

I'm so happy that Mirinda Rinny Carfrae won her 2nd World Championship with a course record... and 3rd fastest overall (men and women) run time as well. The picture below shows the sheer joy and energy she had as she leaped into her fiance's (TO who did exceptionally well too with a 5th place men's) arms at the finish.

Picture taken from Ironman.com

The men's winner Frederick Van Lierde was a bit of a surprise but looking back at his 3rd place finish last year, it was definitely not a fluke and it clearly showed that being patient and consistent throughout the race will reap massive rewards. But the one I'm most surprised with... and I'm sure I'm not the only one, even Ironman.com did not feature him as one of the contenders... was 2nd place men Luke McKenzie. His cycling prowess showed even more strength on Saturday and he worked on his achilles heel - the run, coming into this race very lean and posting a fast marathon time. Luke was the winner of Ironman Malaysia in 2009, the very same one I did my first ever Ironman.

Picture taken from Slowtwitch.com - Sorry, I can't help but think that he looks a bit like a leprechaun with the green cap and his green skinsuit!

It is a pity to see pre race favourites like Pete PJ Jacobs, Craig Crowie Alexander, Andreas Raelert, Caroline Xena Steffen not living up to their top billing but it only shows that anything can happen on the big island.

A big shout out to my buddy Enrico Varella, Kona legacy competitor who finished in 13:35:35. There was an inside joke as to whether he could beat Hell's Kitchen Gordon Ramsay and he did just that after trailing him after the swim. Well done mate!

Watching the race was simply inspiring and I hope too, that one day I could be on the big island. In the meantime... back into training for next year. I think I am more or less decided on which Ironman race to do. *wink*

The return of the eagle

In just over 12 hours time, the Ironman Triathlon World Championships would unfold in Kona, Hawaii. Although there is no clear favourite, there are definitely some who would be likely contenders for the crowns of being king and queen of Kona this year. I am a Crowie fan myself but I see the odds are in the favour of Eneko Llanos after bagging two Championship titles - Asia Pacific and Europe. For the women, I'm sticking to my guns and rooting for Rinny, whom I am a huge fan.

But apart from having this year's biggest show in Ironman taking stage soon, massive news made the headlines recently, hitting somewhere closer to home. After a 3 year hiatus, Ironman would once again return to Malaysia... my home country! A two loop swim course in sheltered waters off Legenda Park, followed by a two loop undulating bike course from southeast to northwest of the island and back, rounding up with a 4 loop run course along Kuah town and finishing at the iconic eagle statue at Dataran Lang. Here's the official press release.

Picture of Dataran Lang taken from the official website

Ironman Langkawi, Malaysia was my first ever Ironman in 2009. I had no idea what I was in for. My longest ride before the race was 160km. I had a modest goal of 12 hours and I was totally elated to cross the finish line in 11:15:20. A year later, I came back with higher expectations. I sliced a whopping 25 minutes off my bike split. But in the heat, I struggled on the later stages of the run, finishing in 11:33:12. I was eager to make amends the following year but sadly, 2010 was the last we saw of Ironman Malaysia. Since then, I've been really blessed to be given the opportunity to enhance my Ironman experience overseas, in Australia and recently, Canada - adding another 5 more Ironman finishes to my cap.

First tri bike, dorky glasses and poor bike fit. Ate too many gels and bananas. But had a ball at my first IM

In my 2nd year, I had more pressure on myself and when the heat turned up, all wheels came off and I jogged/walked the 2nd half of the run

 To have Ironman return to Malaysia in 2014 is a dream come true to many Malaysian triathletes, be it those who aspire to tick off their bucket list of completing an Ironman distance or those reminiscing some nostalgia and yearning to relive those special moments again. I fall in the latter group and I'm over the moon when I heard the news. Although that puts me in a difficult situation being so far away from home, it would have been totally different story if I was back in Australia.

Most of you know I have yet to commit to a full Ironman race for next year. I've heard rumours about Ironman Malaysia was in the works and now those rumours became reality. Apart from the additional costs of the long travel home for this race, I would also need to consider the 30 hour journey and jetlag. Plus it would be in my final month of working contract here which only gives week of handover to the lady I'm standing in for.

Having said that... I know what my heart wants. Big kudos to all those involved in bringing Ironman Malaysia back. When registration opens on November 7, I'll have to make a call.

Turning 30

So yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of my birth. Hitting the 3rd decade seems like a milestone. For one most relevant to me, is aging up to the next age group for my triathlon events. Last year I had did a race in Miri, Malaysia on my birthday and the year before I was probably getting into the big training weeks before Ironman. This year, after having an early season Ironman, I am currently in off season. I had my candle blowing and cake cutting over Skype with my family back home. Li-Ann woke up early to bake the cake just in time for us to Skype. I have two aunties, one cousin and a niece celebrating October birthdays, so it was nice celebrating together.

We then had a quiet dinner in Morrisey House. Given that I'm currently in off season and training hours are significantly reduced, I didn't over indulge and kept our portions reasonable. Plus, I'm still recovering from the bout of flu that hit me last week, it's taking a little bit longer that I hoped for to go away which is very annoying but I'm getting there. But we did have another serving of cake at Symposium Cafe.

There's always time for beer, recovering from flu or not

I had a craving for a good steak... and I wasn't disappointed

Li-Ann's massive plate of salad

Okay, maybe this banana caramel cake wasn't quite a reasonable portion

Thank you everyone for the well wishes through Facebook, Whatsapp, SMSes etc. Both my siblings posted photo collages on my Facebook wall, which were very touching. I don't think I feel any different turning 30 although I do find this new age group a lot more competitive. Also, I find myself filling in my age in the middle of the drop down menus of surveys now, instead of the top few options. Subtle differences but differences I notice nontheless.

Here's to great year ahead and many more great birthdays to come! :)

Holiday

It was the final week of Li-Ann's parents' holiday here. On the weekend, we attended her cousin's wedding in Markham, about 2.5 hours drive from us. Well, actually, she's Li-Ann's niece although we're younger than her. It was our first time being served tea at the tea ceremony. The night before the wedding, there were plenty of delicious hakka cuisine, all cooked by her mum. Congratulations Eve and Bernard on your wedding! And thank you and your family for the warm hospitality.

The next day we left for the Billy Bishop Toronto City airport to catch our flight to New York. Boy, was it a stressful event. We did not expect the Toronto traffic to be so bad. What was meant to be a 45 minute journey took us nearly 1.5 hours and we got to the check-in counter 15 minutes before the flight departure! The check-in staff were not happy and we pleaded and pleaded. Even though they checked us in, it was still not guaranteed that we would be flying as we still had to catch the plane before it flies! Anyway, we rushed through all the security procedures and just made it before take-off. My heart rate probably stayed high for at least the first half of the flight!

We stayed with another one of Li-Ann's cousins in New Jersey. Having a big family has it's perks as you are bound to have someone, somewhere! Her cousin in law is a chef and we were welcomed by a delicious Taiwanese style steamboat with geoduck and sliced kobe beef!

The next 2 days were spent visiting New York city. It's such a busy city and luckily we had Li-Ann's cousin to bring us around. It was great weather, cool with sunny skies. We managed to watch Mama Mia on broadway - it was a fantastic performance and it was difficult to resist dancing to the show.

The bomber sandwich at the local diner - pork sausage, ham, bacon, two eggs, hash brown and cheese - all in one sandwich!

9/11 memorial - this is one of the pools where one of the twin towers was originally built. It was an eerie feeling thinking how the water fall represents the fallen souls on that tragic day.

Empire state building at the Rockefeller Plaza. We didn't go up the building. It was US$50 per person and there was such a long queue.

Time Square. It was the opening night of the opera, so the roads were closed off to lay out chairs to air the opera to the public, we watch the same show as those inside - free of charge! Can't say I'm an opera fan though. I found myself walking away to the nearby shops after 10 minutes!

On the ferry to the Statue of Liberty island. Because of hurricane Sandy, the port had to be rebuilt and Ellis Island, was closed due to damage

Aih... posing fail, crooked arm! And, what a sunny day! My lips cracked and my sun burnt for that day.

The final day of my trip was at Atlantic City. Li-Ann's cousin is a member and put us up in a really nice and luxurious suite at Borgata Hotel. As it was a weeknight, it was pretty quiet at the casino. I returned to London early as I had to work. Li-Ann stayed with her parents for a trip to Washington DC for a couple more days.

Big thank you to Li-Ann's cousin and cousin-in-law for the warm hospitality and taking us around. We truly enjoyed our trip!

I came down with a bit of a cold and sore throat from the travelling. It's ironic how my body can tolerate hours and miles of training but struggle with the late nights and rich food while travelling. Resting lots and taking my meds now and hope to recover soon. In a way, it is off season from my racing and this is the first time I've been sick all year. So I'm counting my blessings!

Off season

So with no upcoming race in sight for at least until the new year, I am officially in the off season. But if you know me well, that doesn't mean I stop training completely. We only have a couple of months of sunshine before winter comes. As it is, the mornings have been pretty cold lately.

I've started doing my evening runs at Springbank gardens. As I don't work in Western campus anymore, stopping by Springbank is on my way from work to the campus where I pick Li-Ann up. Running at the garden trails is a nice change from dodging the heavy traffic at Western campus to downtown area. Only thing is there are no long climbs on the route. But no matter, I would still be able to get some hill training when I run around our neighbourhood.

I have also stopped my membership at the Western fitness centre. I have a few multi passes left to the YMCA near our place. Only thing is they have swim classes in the afternoons which take up all the lanes on most weekdays so my only options are to either swim weekday mornings or during the weekends. And being off season, I find it difficult waking up before sunrise for a swim, especially now the first light comes later.

Li-Ann's parents will be dropping by tomorrow for a visit. They have done their grand tour of the west coast from California to Vegas and recently to Vancouver and Calgary. We'll be going to Toronto to attend Li-Ann's cousin's wedding this weekend and then a short trip to New York. I'll be returning to London earlier while Li-Ann would stay with her parents for a visit to Washington DC up until end of the week.

So that's pretty much it from me. Hopefully I'll be able to post up some stuff each week. It is as though my blog goes through off season along with my training haha. But at least for next week I have some pictures of the New York trip to share.

Ironman 70.3 Muskoka 2013

Held in Huntsville, Ontario - about 4 hours drive from us. The course is challenging but beautiful, as the organizers label it - naturally tough! I signed up mainly because of the 100 slots to the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championships and the event didn't seem to sell out, so I thought I'd try my luck. But with 2 weeks after Ironman Whistler, I wasn't sure what sort of form I would be in. Li-Ann was away in California travelling with her parents who are here for a USA/Canada trip. One of the rare times that I would be racing without her by my side. I was concerned about keeping myself awake during the long trip but it turned out okay.

I got to Huntsville at 11am Saturday and it was raining. There was limited parking at the host hotel, Deerhurst Resort but the organizers arranged for shuttle buses throughout the race eve and race day from a nearby parking lot, formerly an airstrip about 2 kms away. I picked up my race pack and checked in my bike. Bike racks were allocated according to age groups but were not numbered. So luckily I checked in early and booked a spot close to the bike exit. Went to say hi to Coach Sheri who had an expo stall selling trigger point therapy equipment.

With 2010 World Ironman Champion, Mirinda Carfrae. I'm a big fan as she rides a Felt and win her races on the run. 

I checked into my accommodation - Motel 6, a very nice place actually, about 7kms away. Rested a while before returning to Deerhurst for the professional athlete press conference. After that, it was pepperoni pizza for dinner - yes, my trusted pre race meal! And then, tried having an early night's sleep. But I was having trouble sleeping. Didn't stress too much about it, instead I checked up on Facebook updates and watched the final bits of the movie Anaconda (Jennifer Lopez looked so different then) and finally fell asleep a bit after 11pm.

Race morning, woke up at 5am and got ready. My gear was all prepared the day before so all I had to do was have breakfast and get changed. The shuttle bus service was really efficient. After getting my bike ready in transition, I still had 1.5 hours before the race start! So I sat in a quiet corner in Deerhurst Resort lobby. Had a final visit to the toilet and got into my wetsuit. It was a pretty cold morning, less than 10 degrees celcius so I placed arm warmers in transition. At least it wasn't going to rain as earlier forecasted.

Race start was 8am, I was the next wave after the professional athletes. The walk from transition to the start was LONG! And we were walking downhill, which means we have to run up after the swim! The swim course is one lap, shaped like a letter P. There were maybe about 150 people in my wave and I had the sun in my eyes for quite a bit of it. So navigating was a bit difficult but I didn't think I went off course too much. I came out of the water in 12th position in my age group in 30:44.

A bit disoriented after the swim

This was the first time I used wetsuit strippers, great idea - I should have done this in my earlier races! My legs were a bit wobbly and I felt a bit disoriented running up the hill into transition. The sudden change in blood flow from being in a horizontal position while swimming to vertical. It wasn't that cold when I got to transition, so I made the decision not to put on my arm warmers. I mounted the bike with no problems. T1 was 3:18.

Had a pretty smooth transition

The bike course is one loop, lollypop shaped (or something else for those of you who think that way haha) with a big head and a short stump. It is 94km with lots of ups and downs with not many flat sections. But I didn't find the hills too steep. There were some of the bigger climbs I had to use my 27 teeth gear but I stayed in the big chainring at the front throughout. As usual, I used my weight to my advantage, overtaking the guys in front on the climbs but finding myself losing out on the downhills. The roads were not closed to traffic but they were wide enough and I was able to descend confidently on the wide open sections. Only found myself braking like a wuss on some of the tight corners.

Enjoying the ride and scenery

The weather was perfect, sunny with not as much wind as earlier predicted. The scenery of the lakes and tall pine trees was simply amazing. Towards the later stages of the bike, I caught up with some of the pro females who started 6 minutes earlier. That gave me quite an ego boost but I guess they were new pros just starting out in their career. I came off the bike in 2:50:47, still in 12th position in my age group. And guess what? My bike split was only just over 5 minutes quicker than Coach Sheri! 

Nice scenery eh?

Into transition, grabbed my visor, sunnies and race belt and off I went, slipping them on as I'm running out. T2 was 43 seconds, I think that's a new PB! 

The run course was one lap, out and back. Mostly on road. We ran about 7kms towards town before making a turn into some dirt trail and then making a U turn. It was pretty challenging too with some steep climbs. I was surprised with how good my legs felt. The weather stayed cool and that really made a difference. I reached the turnaround point just under 44 minutes. My pace went a bit slower after, I was expecting it so I wasn't worried. But it didn't drop by much. 

Surprised with how good I felt

Somewhere after the 12km mark, my left hamstring seized up but I shortened my stride and prevented it from becoming a full blown cramp. At the downhill sections, I leaned myself forward, using momentum to roll myself down. There was one section where there was a wooden bridge, I don't remember crossing it in our outward lap and the cones were placed on the outside path adjacent to the bridge. Still, many were crossing the bridge on the way back. I did so, for a few steps and backtracked to the outside path. Lost a few seconds there. I passed Coach Sheri as she was heading out in the opposite direction - she still was able to shout out critiques about my form! Look straight! Swing your arms! 

Putting up a strong front going up one of the hills

As I got close to the finishing chute, there was one guy in my age group just a bit ahead. I quickened the pace the final few hundred metres, overtook him, only to be outsprinted from behind at the finish! And just a bit ahead was another guy in our age group as well. I finished the run in 1:33:39, a new PB for a half ironman run, with an overall time of 4:59:11. I came in 11th in my age group and 76th overall. There were 8 slots to the World Championships and all 8 were taken. I would be kicking myself it a slot rolled down to either 9th or 10th! Still, I'm very happy with my race performance and amazed at how well I backed up after the Ironman two weeks ago. 

I'm no sprinter, hence lost out to the 2 guys in front but very happy with the strong finish!

The spread at the post race buffet was really good. My only gripe was they only allowed us one time to get our food, there was only so much food I could carry with my two tired arms and I was hungry! I waited around for the roll down as there were some other Coach Sheri athletes who stood a chance. Coach Sheri won her age group as usual and was 21st female overall including the pros, with a 5:18:41 if you don't mind! Congratulations to her and all those who got their slots. My regular training buddy, Clare lost a slot by 1 second, also outsprinted at the finish by a girl who came from behind! What a pity! 

I celebrated my race with a KFC dinner. This is my first time having KFC here in Canada, and I was surprised the coleslaw is green and there was no hot N' spicy on the menu! But a reliable source told me that this was probably only specific to Huntsville. So that's it for racing for this year. Time to get fat to prepare myself for the winter. I haven't committed to any big race next year. It's a weird feeling not having a goal set out... but that won't stay for long!